March 21, 2017 9:00 AM |
Anonymous

March 21, 2017
Washington, DC

Congress is slated after the summer recess to take up the issue of comprehensive tax reform. The upcoming tax-reform process is focusing on residence-based taxation changes for US foreign businesses, and American Citizens Abroad (ACA) advocates working to persuade Congress that the tax law should include residence-based taxation for individuals as well. Currently, Americans living overseas are taxed in the US based on citizenship.

“Residency-based taxation for individuals is a relatively straightforward exercise and does not risk ‘muddying the water’ for changes regarding corporate international taxation. There are no obvious roadblocks to undertaking this step,” said ACAGF Chairman Charles Bruce.

ACA’s ongoing advocacy efforts have raised awareness of the problems facing Americans living overseas and have provided proposals for treatment to alleviate tax compliancy problems. Now ACAGF is raising funds to commission a professional "scoring" or revenue estimates required to persuade Congress that tax reforms that would benefit individual American expatriate taxpayers are feasible and cost-neutral.

“The tax-writing and other committees and Member offices that ACA has met with are all familiar with ACA’s approach to residency-based taxation of Americans overseas, and meetings in these offices lead us to believe that legislation making this change is eminently doable,” said ACA Executive Director Marylouise Serrato. “The House Republican ‘Blueprint’ for tax reform states that the Ways and Means Committee intends to address the treatment of individuals living and working abroad, opening the door for this important change.”